‘Why didn’t anybody do anything?’
THE SUSPECT at the centre of a grizzly murder case had a history of mental problems. The claim was made by a neighbour, as a Nicosia District Court yesterday remanded Renos Chrysanthou for eight days. Chrysanthou has admitted to killing his brother-in-law in Paleometocho.
Police are now investigating a case of premeditated murder.
The village community was yesterday in shock following news of 55-year-old Antonis Antoniades’ murder.
Suspect Renos Chrysanthou, 37, was known by the local community as Rocky, was a well-known drug addict who suffered from mental problems. He admitted to police and then in court yesterday, that he killed Antoniades on Monday because he used to physically abuse him, his sister and his mother.
While in the court’s holding cells, the suspect told nearby policemen and other witnesses that it had been Green Monday, which meant the area needed to be cleaned out.
According to the chief investigator’s testimony in court, Chrysanthou’s father called the police when he arrived at Antoniades’ home on Tuesday evening to find blood all over the floor and his son-in-law missing.
According to the investigator, Renos Chrysanthou then admitted he had killed his brother-in-law with an axe and that he could lead them to where he had disposed of the body. He said he killed Antoniades because his brother-in-law was allegedly beating him and his close family members.
The body was found in a field in Menikou village.
The court also heard yesterday how the suspect had been a drug addict from a young age
Asked by the judge if he would like to add to the investigator’s testimony, Chrysanthou responded: “No, what he is saying is true”. He added, “I have regretted what I have done; what I did was not godly.”
A post-mortem on the victim yesterday showed that Antoniades’ head, face and back sustained injuries from two objects. Not just an axe, but also a sharp object, most probably a knife.
No defensive injuries were spotted, which, according to Coroner Eleni Antoniou, indicates that the victim was attacked from behind.
One of Chrysanthou’s neighbours yesterday told the Cyprus Mail that for some time the community had been pressuring the authorities into sectioning him.
“We all knew he was crazy. He was diagnosed with a mental disorder years ago and we were all afraid of him – he was unpredictable and aggressive.”
He added, “We were all afraid – especially at night, where he had been known to break into homes and attack people.
“We warned the police time and time again that something like this would happen but unfortunately, nothing was done about it, resulting in this tragic outcome.”
Some nights, according to Chrysanthou’s neighbour, he would take his table out into the middle of the road and put his radio at full blast playing rembetika music and sit there, drinking.
But the murder suspect’s instability didn’t end there.
“On one occasion, he attacked another villager with an axe, but thankfully without injuring him.
Another time, he was walking past someone in the street when he pulled out a screwdriver and attacked him.”
But even more worryingly, according to the suspect’s neighbour, Chrysanthou attempted to set fire to the victim’s home just days before the fatal attack; something the police yesterday said they were completely unaware of.
“We are aware of the axe attack, but not about the incident with the screwdriver, nor about the fire,” said a police source yesterday.
Asked why the police hadn’t taken actions knowing how unstable the suspect was, the same source explained, “It is not up to us to decide to send someone to prison and throw away the key. It is down to the court.
“We issued an order that the suspect receive obligatory medical treatment. He was taken to a psychiatric clinic, where a few days later, doctors said he was fine and released him.”
